Stefan Ochiana, PhD

Education

Area(s) of Expertise

Organic and Medicinal Chemistry

Projects

Discovery and development of Hsp90/Grp94 inhibitors and the design and synthesis of chemical probes for the biological evaluation of these targets.

Stefan Ochiana received his PhD in organic chemistry in 2013 from Northeastern University. He subsequently joined the Chiosis laboratory for his postdoctoral training to gain more experience in hit-to-lead and lead optimization medicinal chemistry and chemical biology. Stefan is currently working on two projects aimed at the discovery and development of orally bioavailable Hsp90/Grp94 drugs for the treatment of cancer. The targeting of molecular chaperones with small-molecule inhibitors is at the cutting edge of targeted therapies and promises to be a fruitful area of research in the treatment of cancer. The prospect of training in this field bodes well with his career goals.

During his postdoctoral training he expects to add to his current drug discovery background by learning new techniques relating to preclinical drug development, discover and synthesize improved pharmacological agents and validate the mechanisms of actions for these agents with the help of his biology colleagues. Specifically, he is receiving training in computational analyses to aid his synthetic efforts. In addition, during his time in the Chiosis laboratory he will also be exposed to proper tissue culture technique and the humane use of animals in research, techniques for handling mice and for administrations of drugs by iv, ip and po route. Stefan has already begun his training in establishment of xenografts, drug administration, dose and schedule design, tumor volume measurements and tissue and tumor harvesting, drug evaluation in tumors by LC/MSMS methods, and analysis of pharmacodynamic changes in tumors. His training at Memorial Sloan Kettering will allow him to get a well rounded understanding of cancer research and its application.